‘The Stratford Upon Avon & Midland Junction Railway’ (or S.M.J.) was a small independent railway company which ran a line across the empty, untouched centre of England. It visited the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and a little of Buckinghamshire, only existing as the SMJ from 1909 to 1923. In 1923 the S.M.J.became a minor arm of the London Midland and Scottish (L.M.S.), then in 1948 'British Railways'
Gone but not forgotten: "the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth"
Following on from the previous discussion about WD passenger trains on the SMJ during the 1940s; it must be said that passenger trains ran on metals connected to the SMJ until the mid 1960s. There was a passenger service from the nearest point to…Continue
Arthur Jordan in his book, The Stratford Upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway - The Shakespeare Route at pp 82 mentions a WW2 late night special from Stratford on Avon to Burton Dassett for soldiers at the CAD. I would envisage that this did not…Continue
Started by Dave Hayward. Last reply by Dave Hayward Jun 16.
AndyAbout two years ago I ended up with some railway matter from a Bill Kendall who had been a Signalman on SMJ ending his railway career at Northampton No 1. I worked with him when I was working in Rugby PSB, I also covered the signa?l boxes at…Continue
Started by Robin Leslie Patrick. Last reply by Dave Hayward Jun 8.
I noted from the train the other day you could see a slight embankment between the station site and the M40. I might have taken a photo, I cannot remember off hand as images are stored elsewhere.
The embankment of the LNWR line to Cockley Brake is clearly visible even today although the M40 bisects it. The point at which the M40 crossed the line is the site of the WW1 Shell Filling Plant. You can see some of the brick bunker walls in the fields either side of the motorway. There is little informatin about the site in existance but there is a brief description of it in the Buckinghamshire Railway by Bill Bedford.
Permalink Reply by Gary on October 18, 2013 at 11:13
Hi Si,
Yes I used to travel it daily and the Shell Filling site is indeed very clear and a fair size. I manage to post a picture a while back of the embankment from Southbound M40 thanks to traffic I just hadn't seen the view from the train for absolutely ages. Prone to flooding now though I noticed.
Will have to see if I can get a copy of the book so I can read more. Was it served by the line at all do we know?